


Too Cold To Picnic

by AtropaSilentium



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cold Weather, Gen, Parent-Child Relationship, Picnics, red!allen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-25 15:48:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20726738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtropaSilentium/pseuds/AtropaSilentium
Summary: "What better time to picnic than when the world is so colorful?""How about when it's not so cold outside?""Ah… Are you cold?"





	Too Cold To Picnic

Allen listened to the melodic chirp of birds around them. They were scarcer this time of year, with most of them having migrated to warmer places, but a few still remained. Their feathered bodies were plush and plump in preparation for the changing seasons, and he envied them as a gush of cool wind numbed his face. If only he had a coat of feathers, then maybe his father's ridiculous plan wouldn't have left him with a painful tingling in his flesh from the freezing weather. 

"Why are we having a picnic in Autumn?" he asked, staring up at the dying leaves, which had all but fallen off the trees.

His father placed a warm hand on his head. "What better time to picnic than when the world is so colorful?"

"How about when it's not so _ cold _outside?"

"Ah… Are you cold?" 

"Yes! I've been saying that the whole walk up here!" Allen said, pouting at having been ignored for the last fifteen minutes or so.

Normally, he would have been delighted to eat lunch with Mana in the park, but his tiny body had already startled to shiver uncontrollably, and it brought back bad memories of sleepless nights without shelter. He really just wanted to get back inside the little room they had rented for the week. They could even cuddle up in blankets and enjoy their food by the warm fire. 

"Can we eat at home?" Allen asked, wrapping his arms around himself. "Please?"

His silver eyes rose to meet golden ones, and for a moment they just stayed there, staring at each other. Allen could never quite figure out what Mana thought about in that jumbled-up head of his. All he knew was that sometimes when his father looked at him, the man's mind seemed to wander. It went to a place where he couldn't follow, and he hated it. He hated feeling so helpless when it came to the one person he cared about most in the entire world.

After a few moments of blank staring, Mana tore his gaze away and stood up. "Of course… Of course. I forgot how cold it can get at this time of year." 

"Let's go back," Allen said, getting up and giving Mana's sleeve a small tug. "I'll get the basket." 

"Don't hurt yourself if it's too heavy."

"I'm fine. You carried it here." Hefting the basket up against his chest, Allen did best not to look encumbered due to the limited movement in his right arm as he began walking.

The trek back to the inn they were staying at wasn't long, but they had to travel over a few large hills and he was having trouble carrying the overloaded basket. He had to stop a few times just to catch his breath and readjust it in his arms so that he wouldn't drop it. With every break they took, Mana just watched him quietly, worry etching his features. 

"I'm sorry. I'm holding us up," Allen admitted during their fifth break, turning his face away in shame. He felt the basket being lifted from his grasp and glanced up to see his father smiling down at him.

"You did good. I'm proud of you for carrying it this far," Mana said, eyes filled with sincerity.

"Even though I couldn't make it all the way?"

"It's normal for us to need help every once in a while. Just ask next time if something is too heavy for you to carry on your own." 

"I guess." Before Mana entered his life, help had always come with a price, so relying on others wasn't something he was used to. 

"Promise me that if you need help in the future, you’ll ask for it?” 

"I… I'll try to remember." Allen agreed, cheeks pink with embarrassment. "But _ only _ if I need it."

A deep, highly amused laugh escaped Mana's throat, so comforting in contrast to the painful words that followed. "You always were the stubborn type, Nea."

_ Nea. _That name made Allen cringe. He wasn't Nea—he didn't even know anyone named Nea—yet every once in a while, Mana would slip up and call him that. He wished his father would stop calling him by other names, but he knew better than to chide the man for it. Mana was ill and didn't know better. At least, that was what he kept telling himself. 

"I'm not him," Allen muttered, frowning. 

Mana shot him a puzzled look. "Hmm? What's that, Allen?"

"It's nothing. I just thought… It's nothing." He passed Mana with an irritated huff, pushing the unintentional offense to the back of his mind where it could be forgotten. 

He hadn't managed to get very far before Mana's arm shot out, stopping him from going further. "Be careful not to slip. The ground is still wet in some spots from yesterday's rain."

Allen looked at the ground, noticing multiple large patches of mud. If he fell in them, he'd be cold _ and _wet, and that was the last thing he wanted. It was hard to stay mad at Mana when he did nice things like that all the time. Even when he fell victim to a momentary lapse of sanity, he had never been intentionally cruel to Allen. Not even once. 

"If you're afraid of slipping, you can hold on to me," Mana said, offering Allen his free hand.

Allen stared at the tan hand, wanting to take it, if only to be closer to Mana. "I can walk on my own. I'm not a little kid," he replied instead.

Mana looked a tad disheartened by Allen's rejection, but he quickly hid his emotions behind a polite smile. "Of course. You're getting so big."

"I'll be a man in a few years," Allen said, puffing out his chest in pride.

"Hmm, that you will." Mana agreed. "That reminds me, Allen. When is your birthday?"

"My birthday?" 

"Yes, don't tell me that I already missed it?"

"No… that's… not." Allen hesitated, realizing that there were still things his father didn't know about him.

"That's not...?" Mana, asked, trying to coax a response from Allen.

"I don't have one."

"I see. That won't do."

Allen shot him a puzzled look. "It won't?"

"Of course not. Every child needs a birthday," Mana said, eyes unfocused as he slipped into another one of his trances. "Hmm... I know. It's perfect..."

"Huh? What is?"

"It's perfect…" Mana repeated before he broke free of his trance-like state, and his face lit up in excitement. "Ah, you'll see soon enough! It's a surprise!" 

That only made Allen want to know even more. "_Manaaa, _that's not _ fair. _You can't say something like that and then not tell me the rest!"

"You'll just have to be patient like a good child." As soon as the statement left his lips, Mana continued walking down the hill, the picnic basket swinging along to his jolly stride while he hummed his favorite tune.

XxXxXxXxX

Allen followed his advice and remained patient. For months he remained patient until he had forgotten all about the surprise. Then one snowy Christmas day, Mana presented him with a very unique, very unusual present. There, wrapped in a small white box was a tiny birthday cake with "Happy Birthday, Allen!" written in blue and red frosting. As Allen stared at the neat, edible letters with tears forming in his eyes, he knew that he had already gained the best present a child could ask for. _ A family._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
